WorldSBK Donington: Special podium for Lowes after ‘fun battle’

After a tough 2021 and some up and down luck in 2022, KRT’s Alex Lowes took his first WorldSBK podium of the latest season in race one, in front of a big and sun-kissed crowd of eager British spectators at Donington Park.

With Rea second, it made two Brits, and two Kawasaki’s on the podium for the Japanese factory’s 500th, but it was a special day for Lowes.

“It took a while to get!” Lowes admitted. “It feels a while. We’re not that far into the year but it feels good, especially here at Donington.

“To be honest, when the temperature jumps up, even though it’s only ten degrees, let’s say, on the track, we seem to struggle with our bike, if you compare it to the opposition. When it’s relatively cool, it’s quite easy to go fast. Then when it gets hot, we’re missing. The other guys, it doesn’t seem to affect them as much. So, I didn’t have the speed I expected in the race, but the pace I had, I managed to keep good until the end.

“I had a good battle with Scott [Redding]. He was smoking the rear tyre! After the old hairpin you go left at Schwantz’s, I was behind him and I could just see the side of the swing arm. He was just smoking the tyre. I thought, I’m probably going to have more grip than him in a couple of laps. I just waited there, and at the end I had a bit more grip. It was a nice battle.

“I was losing a bit of time because of a little bit of battles. I was able to save a little bit of tyre for the last few laps. Nice to be on the podium.

“Obviously, I gained the podium with Alvaro’s mistake,” he admitted of Bautista’s crash. “I wouldn’t have had the pace to be genuinely on the podium. I was a little bit off that pace, but not too far. Closer than we’ve been. Small changes for tomorrow and try to do a bit better.”